First-choice Belgrave ruled out by the States
THE States-owned Belgrave Vinery, which neighbours the Fontaine, was the first choice of many tenants after it became clear they would need to find a new permanent base.
Several business owners have made the case that the site, which is also earmarked for residential development, was 'too low-lying' to provide good foundations for housing and that the currently disused land was 'further away from residents and noise would have been better contained' – meaning re-designation of the land would be less contested by neighbours than almost any other prospective site.
However, the States said it was 'very unlikely' to be considered as a potential home for the Fontaine Vinery tenants.
Longue Hougue was also put forward as a possible solution, with Vale deputy Laurie Queripel saying a States-owned piece of land of at least four acres made the most practical and economic sense.
'Ideally either part of Belgrave or Longue Hougue would fit the bill – they are such vast sites that from a sight and sound perspective, any activity would be largely unnoticeable,' he said. 'They are also lying unused at the moment and have been for quite a long time, hardly good use of a States asset when a return could be realised.'
However, the States have said that Longue Hougue was, and would continue to be, reserved for 'heavy and specialist industrial development'.
See today's Guernsey Press for a GP Investigates special on Fontaine Vinery and its tenants
